The First Avatar
by PolarBearMagus
Summary: An Avatarized Hindu myth. Oneshot.


A/N: This was for an AvatarPortal competition, where we had to Avatarize a myth. I chose the Hindu myth of Durga. Enjoy!

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Long ago, the people were at war with the spirits. An evil demon, Mahishasura, had already taken over the spirit world. Now he was leading the invasion against the humans.

The four peoples: Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads, met on the final battlefield, allied as they would never be allied again. While the armies assembled, their leaders held a last council.

"Mahishasura is destroying our people," Fire Lord Shiva said. "We must stop him [ihere[/i, on [ithis[/i battlefield."

"We cannot stop him," replied Earth King Brahma. "No one can stop him."

Air Master Vishnu folded his arms in his robes. "It is said that no man or spirit may kill him."

"Then there is no hope," Water Chief Varuna declared.

The generals of the peoples' armies murmured their agreement. If the greatest leaders of the age could not defeat Mahishasura, nobody could.

"No!" cried Fire Lord Shiva. "We must not despair!" He strode around the council, meeting the eyes of every man there. "We are the world's last hope. If we do not stop Mahishasura today, then we must stop him tomorrow. If we do not stop him tomorrow, we must stop him the next day. If we do not, Mahishasura will take our world, and we will no longer be free. We [imust[/i fight for our right to live!"

The men cheered. They would win, or they would go down fighting.

A disturbance beyond the council grabbed their attention. Guards were ordering someone to turn back, but it shoved its way through the council until it was standing before the four great leaders.

It was a spirit, so evil that its very body was twisted. It spoke to the leaders, "I have a message from my master, the all-powerful Mahishasura."

"Very well," said Earth King Brahma. "Deliver your message and be done with it."

The spirit messenger launched into a speech about how Mahishasura would defeat the people and destroy their world. He began to describe how his demon master would kill the people.

"Enough!" shouted Fire Lord Shiva. He punched the air, and flames erupted from his fist to engulf the messenger. In a few seconds, all that was left of it was a pile of ash.

"That was cruel," Air Master Vishnu observed.

"These spirits are cruel," growled Water Chief Varuna. "And now there is one less of them to fight."

"One less of them to destroy our people," Earth King Brahma agreed.

The four great leaders glowered at the thought of their people's destruction. They were so furious, the very air around them began to glow with a bright, white light. That light took the form of a young woman, gathering inside of her until all that remained of the light was her eyes, which shone brilliantly like two stars.

"I am Durga," the woman said, surveying the council. "I will help you defeat Mahishasura."

Fire Lord Shiva, Earth King Brahma, Air Master Vishnu, and Water Chief Varuna exchanged wary looks.

"You are a woman," Earth King Brahma said. "So you cannot fight the battle."

"You are a man," Durga said. "So you cannot kill the demon."

The leaders exchanged looks again, but this time, they were smiling.

"What weapons do you have?" asked Water Chief Varuna.

Durga turned her powerful gaze on him. "None."

"If I may," said Air Master Vishnu, stepping forward. "I am the world's greatest air bender. Air is the element of freedom. I will gladly give you my power if it means stopping Mahishasura and ensuring my people will be free." He held up a hand, spun a small whirlwind of yellow light, and sent it over to the woman, who absorbed the whirlwind into her own palm.

Following the Nomad's lead, Water Chief Varuna stepped forward. "I am the world's greatest water bender. Water is the element of change. I will gladly give you my power if it means stopping Mahishasura and ensuring that my people will be able to change the world for the better." He held up a hand, drew up a wave of blue light, and pushed it toward the woman, who absorbed the wave into her own palm.

Then Earth King Brahma stepped forward. "I am the world's greatest earth bender. Earth is the element of substance. I will gladly give you my power if it means stopping Mahishasura and ensuring that my people will endure." He held up a hand, formed a rock of green light, and rolled it over to the woman, who absorbed the rock into her own palm.

Finally, Fire Lord Shiva stepped forward. "I am the world's greatest fire bender. Fire is the element of power. I will gladly give you my power if it means stopping Mahishasura and ensuring that my people will have what they desire." He held up a hand, lit a flame of red light, and sent it over to the woman, who absorbed the flame into her own palm.

Durga closed her eyes, and for a second she looked like any other young woman. But when they snapped back open, a terrible power seemed to emanate from her, and even the great leaders were intimidated.

"Thank you," she told them in a booming voice. "I will not keep your power forever. It is a loan, only. Now, I must defeat this demon before any more lives are lost."

She swept from the council and onto the battlefield, almost seeming to float through the air. The people moved out of her way; then once she had passed, they followed behind her. The power she had received from their leaders spilled out over the landscape, rippling the surface and raising mountains.

Durga reached the top of a hill and saw the spirit army spread out on a large field below. At the head of it was the demon Mahishasura.

Eyes flashing with a great light, Durga slammed a foot into the ground.

When nothing happened, the demons began to laugh to themselves. This woman was not as intimidating as she appeared.

Durga's eyes flashed again, and the wind picked up. It whirled around her, faster and faster, until Durga was lifted off of the ground, high above the battlefield.

Mahishasura knew that something was wrong. "Kill her!" he roared. His army surged forward.

Durga's eyes flashed again, and she shoved her hands in a sudden, downward motion, palms parallel to the ground. The earth so many feet below her fell away, opening a chasm in the ground. The first wave of spirits fell into the abyss. Then the hole closed up, as if it had never existed.

Flying spirits rushed toward her out of the sky. With another flash and a wave of her hand, a large whirlwind appeared, flinging the flying spirits over the mountains.

Another flash, and fire rained down on the western flank of the spirit army.

Another flash, and a mountain collapsed on the eastern flank of the spirit army.

With each flash of her eyes, hundreds of spirits were destroyed, until all of them were gone and only Mahishasura and his elite forces were left.

The ground shook uncontrollably, and thunder tore the air. Then a giant wave curved over the southern mountain range. Everyone stared up in horror at it, except for Durga, who regarded it as calmly as any other elements she had called.

Some of the demons tried to run away, but it was too late. The wave crashed down on what remained of the spirit army. Now only Mahishasura remained.

Durga's eyes glowed brighter than they had ever done before as she gathered all of her energy.

"With your death," she called down to him in her booming voice, "my people will live."

And with all of her strength, she slammed into him with all the power of the four elements. An inhuman scream echoed over the field. The demon's head, now on fire, rolled over the grass until it stopped beneath Durga.

And so it was over. The enemy was defeated. The battle was won. The humans were free.

Durga sank to the ground, releasing the winds to the four directions. She looked up at the four great leaders with her bright white eyes. "I must return your power," she said, holding out her hands, palms up.

They stepped back in refusal.

"You may keep our power," Fire Lord Shiva told her.

"But I have no need of it," she protested.

Water Chief Varuna glanced at his peers. "But [iwe[/i have need of it," he said. The others nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand," she said.

"Mahishasura is not the last enemy we will face," explained Air Master Vishnu. "This is not the last time that we will need to call on you for aid. We would like you to keep these powers, to use when the time comes, when we need your help."

Durga examined this proposal. For the first time, she smiled.

"It would be easier for me if I were to be close by, so that I can stop threats before they get so out of control," she said, with a casual wave of the battlefield. "So I will live as a human, in this world."

"But you possess too much power for one human," said Earth King Brahma. When she turned her gaze on him, he faltered. "Even one such as you," he added.

"Then I will only be allowed to access this power when I need it," she replied. And just like that, the glow faded from her eyes, until they looked exactly like every other human's.

"But if you are human," Water Chief Varuna said, "you will die. And then what will we do when we need your help?"

"Yes, I will die," Durga agreed. "But I will return. I will be reborn as an avatar, again and again, as long as you have need of me."

The great leaders nodded. It was agreed.

Fire Lord Shiva offered his hand to Durga. "Allow me to introduce you to your people, Avatar Durga," he said. She took his hand, and he led her to the peoples of the four nations.


End file.
